Writing to Learn

At a conference on Writing Across the Curriculum offered at Pennsylvania State University in 1987, the keynote address, given by Dr. James R. Squire, was entitled 'Writing to Learn.' The message was simple: the act of writing, of organizing ideas with a view to communicating to others, does more than simply demonstrate what knowledge we have. It reinforces, transforms, and activates that knowledge. Writing is a powerful, often painstaking process the execution of which is perhaps the most educational cognitive activity in which we, and our students, can be engaged. And it is a process appropriate for learners of all ages and in all subject areas right across the curriculum.

Here is an article that more fully explains this important concept.

Word Processing to Learn
We can construct a powerful syllogism based on Dr. Squire's ideas about Writing to Learn. A syllogism is a three-step process used to prove the truth of an idea. Here's our syllogism:

Statement #1: As Dr. Squires and others have shown, writing contributes significantly to the acquisition of knowledge
Statement #2: No one today would dispute that the word processor is the most versatile writing implement yet invented
Statement #3: We can therefore conclude that the word processor contributes significantly to the acquisition of knowledge.

Make sense? As teachers we should do all we can to have our students using the word processor, email, and chat rooms/instant messenger to "write their brains out."

E-mail to Learn
E-mail is an extension of word processing--less formal, less structured perhaps, but word processing all the same. Under the guidance of good teachers, students can use e-mail as an environment for communication with classmates or with children in other parts of the country or the world, in an exchange of information on a wide range of subjects. If you don't already have an e-mail account on the web, click on this Writing to Learn with Yahoo! link or follow the steps to Sign Up Now for an account with Yahoo!, which is one of the best e-mail services available. Check out these email and IM shortcuts--Smilies:-) make folks smile *:0)...

Instant Messaging to Learn
Instant Messaging (IM) is an extension of word processing and e-mail--even more informal than e-mail, still less structured perhaps, but it is a form of word processing all the same. Again, under the guidance of good teachers, students can use IM as a "live" environment for communication with classmates or with children in other parts of the country or the world, in an exchange of information on a wide range of subjects.

Here are some examples of how your students can use IM to help them learn:

They can use it to chat with classmates about assignments they have to do.

They can use it to chat with family members or other friends who may have answers to questions related to school work or other information needs;

They can use it to chat with children their own age in other towns, or states, or even other countries. As their teacher, for example, you can arrange with a teacher in another country for each of your students to have an IM pal in that other country and assign projects for them to carry out together where they have to find out about different aspects of each other's culture.

See if you can come up with at least TWO other ways in which you might use IM with the kids in your classes.

There are many IM services available free of charge over the Web. Perhaps the best is Yahoo!. Sign Up Now to check it out, if you don't already use IM, and then tell your team mates about it.

Keypals

Talking about communicating with children in other parts of the country or the world, in an exchange of information on a wide range of subjects, why not arrange for your students to correspond (exchange email) with students elsewhere. There are quite a few resources to help teachers do this with their class. One of the best is International E-mail Classroom Connections, an organization started in 1992 by three professors from St. Olaf College in Minnesota and now sponsored by teaching.com, an equally good resource for teachers. Another keypals website that is well recommended by teachers in our public schools is epals.com. ePALS Classroom Exchange® maintains the Internet's largest community of collaborative classrooms engaged in cross-cultural exchanges, project sharing and language learning. ePALS is also the leading provider of school-safe emailTM, blogs, eMentoring and web-browsing technology for the global educational market. Check these keypal resources out.

Education Chat and Education Listservs

These also provide many opportunities for children to learn. Tammy Payton at Loogootee Community Schools has a well-organized web page with links to many resources for Education Chat and Education listservs. Check these out, too.

Here are some other very useful links with more information about education listservs:

AskERIC's Archives of several education-related Mailing Lists
http://www.eduref.org/
A Guide to Education-related E-Mail discussion Lists and Electronic Journals
http://www.edwebproject.org/lists.html
More of the same, but should prove useful nonetheless
http://www.cln.org/lists/home.html

If you don't already have an e-mail account on the web, follow the steps to Sign Up Now for an account with Yahoo!, which is one of the best e-mail services available.

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	They can use it to chat with classmates about assignments they have to do.
	They can use it to chat with family members or other friends who may have answers to questions related to school work or other information needs;
	They can use it to chat with children their own age in other towns, or states, or even other countries. As their teacher, for example, you can arrange with a teacher in another country for each of your students to have an IM pal in that other country and assign projects for them to carry out together where they have to find out about different aspects of each other's culture.